Phosphorus: Is Band Or Broadcast Application The Better Method?
Is band or broadcast application the better method when it comes to phosphorus? The answer to this question depends mostly on the soil phosphorus status, according to Penn State Extension. On soils with optimum to high levels of phosphorus, banding has less advantage and broadcast applications are generally adequate (sometimes superior to banding).
Row crops in general, and corn in particular, appear to yield better when soils contain relatively high levels of phosphorus throughout the rooting profile.
In tests with the recommended phosphorus application split between band and broadcast, versus all by one method, the maximum yields have been obtained with a combination. The advantage to building up the general soil level of phosphorus is probably due to the need of all roots to take up some phosphorus; while banding near the seed can reduce fixation and increase uptake early in the season.
Small grains, on the other hand, have limited rooting systems and thus less capacity to explore soil. In addition, they are short-season crops and often grown in cooler temperatures. Therefore, phosphorus placement seems more critical for small grains than for row crops. Greater yield response to banded phosphorus is common, especially on low phosphorus soils or soils with a greater ability to fix phosphorus. Recommendations of incorporated broadcast phosphorus for small grains have frequently been higher than if the phosphorus were banded, because higher soil phosphorus levels compensate for reduced phosphorus uptake ability of the crop. Where soils are built up to optimum or above phosphorus levels, however, banded or broadcast-P can be equally effective.